Beach Day
by VegasGirl09
Summary: Nick and Finn at the beach; cuteness ensues.


He was awakened by something soft hitting him in the head. He opened his eyes, squinting against the bright sunshine beating its way into the room to confirm the source of the blow to his head amused but not surprised to discover it was her. She was lying on top of him, elbows propped up on the bed, chin resting on her hands, grinning at him with that smile that melted his heart, the pillow she had used to hit him with lay on her side of the bed where the blankets were wrinkled and tangled around her.

"Morning," he greeted her with a kiss.

"Morning," she said kissing him back but rather quickly to his surprise "you know what today is right?"

She was looking at him with an eager look, waiting for an answer.

"No," he replied curiously and she grinned bigger.

"It's beach day!" she declared loudly, squirming excitedly under the covers.

And then he remembered. For days after waking up from her coma, once she had regained some physical strength and had been clarified on what she had missed while in the hospital, she was anxious to get back to her normal life. One of those senses of normalcy was taking trips and the first thing she had begged him for was a trip to the beach.

"I want to go to San Diego with you," she asked sweetly "I want to see where you work and your house and the beach, please can we go?"

Unable to resist the adorable pout she gave him, and once he had cleared it with her doctors after her release from the hospital, he decided on a day that would be good for the both of them between her therapy sessions to go to San Diego.

After a sabbatical from his work there, he returned to California with her in tow, the both of them settling back into a normal routine, with Sam as well, in his condo. It had been over a week now and she had begged him everyday to take her to the beach near the condo complex since she couldn't drive herself just yet and it was too far to walk.

Now, with her eager smile and excited squirming, he knew she couldn't wait any longer to see the ocean and spend some time in the sun.

"Oh that's today?" he teased her which earned him another pillow to his face.

"Yes," she said "you promised, now hurry up, let's go before all the good spots are taken."

She untangled herself from all the covers, pulling on his arm to get him to move and follow her as she got ready, happily chanting 'beach day" over and over. He grumbled and made a point to yawn and stretch over exaggeratedly in displeasure at having to get up so early but he knew she had been looking forward to this for weeks and he loved her to pieces so getting up early to go to the beach with her was like a dream come true.

He went downstairs to make them breakfast while she packed up a large beach bag with towels and sunscreen and everything they would need for today. As he was setting out plates for them to eat, he thought about the trip today and felt a slight concern that a lengthy duration at a crowded beach in the hot sun might be too much for her post coma. But he had to remind himself that she was Julie Finlay, a force to be reckoned with and his concern faded away.

After breakfast, which she practically inhaled just to get them out the door faster, they loaded up his truck with the beach bags, folding chairs, a few snacks and some bottled water. When he got in the car she was already in the passenger seat, radio playing, window rolled down and sunglasses on staring at him with a goofy grin.

"Ready?" he asked her and she nodded, squirming to settle back in her seat while he drove.

San Diego was her new favorite place, she thought as she leaned back in her seat, the breeze whipping her hair around as they drove a few miles down to the ocean front she had been anxious to see for weeks. They passed palm trees, lavish homes and lots of people being out in the fresh air and warm sun. She tried to find a cloud in the sky but there wasn't a single one. That made her smile more.

Nick had to pay extra attention to the road as he drove because he found himself stealing glances at her. She was stretching to see ahead of the traffic for their destination, leaning back when she determined it was still not in view, humming along to the radio and being ridiculously adorable.

When he slowed the car to a stop inside a large parking lot full of other cars and beachgoers, she leapt out and raced around to the trunk to start retrieving their supplies.

"Easy," he warned her when he noticed her trying to carry the two folding chairs, beach bag and cooler all at the same time.

"I can do it," she reminded him trying to show she was still the same after her coma.

"I know," he said "but let me help."

She reluctantly handed him the folding chairs but continued to drag the rest of the supplies through the hot asphalt parking lot to the sandy entranceway a few feet ahead.

"Let's set up there," she declared boldly pointing at a spot "no there"

She switched it up at least six times before finally shuffling through the sand to a spot no one had occupied yet and promptly dropping all the supplies down to claim their territory.

"Here, this is perfect," she announced beginning to rummage through her beach bag while he set up the chairs and umbrella that came with it for shade against the hot sun beating down on them.

Once everything was set up, she bounced over to him and asked "What should we do first?"

"Relax," he suggested leaning back in one of the chairs while she continued to stand, arms crossed in disapproval.

"That's boring," she complained "we should go swimming and look for seashells and build a sandcastle and surf and-

She was cut off by him grabbing her wrist and pulling her down to sit in his lap. She giggled as they both almost fell out of the chair.

"We can do all that stuff," he said "I promise, we have all day, lets not rush it."

"Okay," she finally agreed after he kissed her in the hopes of settling her down.

He knew her so well, she thought as she leaned back in his arms to watch the waves roll in.

As he anticipated, she couldn't sit still for long. She dragged him out of the chair and to the waters edge, dropping to her knees in the sand and starting to dig through it for seashells. He didn't want to discourage her, but after living here for a few months, he know most shells were likely going to be broken due to the strength of the wave and all the tourists walking the beach everyday. Nevertheless, he dropped to his knees in the sand beside her to help her search.

After a good twenty minutes of scraping at the sand, they still had not found anything yet.

"Maybe next time sweetheart," he tried to assure her but she still looked disappointed.

They were both covered in sand so they stood in the ankle deep water, letting the waves wash over them. One particularly strong wave hit her and almost knocked her over.

"Careful," he warned, fearful of her tumbling into the ocean and the consequences somehow leading to another coma.

He reached out to hold her hand and guide her away from any more oncoming waves but when he grabbed a hold of her, she pulled him further into the waves until they had both fallen into the water. He thought it was an accident, until he heard her laughing hysterically at their mishap.

"Gotcha," she teased splashing water at him, still laughing.

That laugh turned into a scream when he leapt up and chased after her, catching her quickly and scooping her up in his arms.

"Gotcha," he teased back before promptly tossing her into the next wave.

She screamed again but laughed at their game. She raced back to him and pushed him into the water to make him chase her again. Back and forth they went, tossing each other into the water. She loved the thrill of him chasing her, then the moment when he caught her, lifting her up in his arms making her stomach tingle with anticipation before he swayed with her over the water momentarily then spilled her into the waves.

After the fourth time they did this, she stood on the shore line catching her breath and he was worried that they had overdone it.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, sweeping her tangled wet hair out of her face.

"Fine," she said breathlessly.

"We can take a break if you want," he said.

"Oh and let you win?" she said smugly "no way, it's tied, we have to break it."

He had no idea she had been keeping track of how many times they had tossed each other in the water but he loved her spirit so he said "Game on."

They raced back to the waters edge, waiting for more waves. She stood on her toes searching the deeper water for any sign of one. When one finally bubbled up and started moving closer she begged "Chase me" and raced along the shoreline.

She was so fast and so full of energy it was like she never fell into that coma, he thought as he did what she asked and raced after her. She had every intention of winning, she thought, as she lured him out into the water when a less violent looking wave came along. She had to slow down to avoid a group of kids and it cost her. He caught up to her, sliding one arm around her waist and pulling her back to him.

"No," she protested loudly, trying to squirm out of his hold but could feel her feet sinking into the wet sand instead.

In one motion he had scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to the waters edge.

"What to do with you?" he teased swaying treacherously over the water with her to build the suspense.

She kept fighting to escape his hold but he wasn't letting her go that easily. As the next wave approached, he tossed her right into it, hearing her shriek in surprise but laugh when he came to rescue her seconds later.

After their jaunt through the ocean, they raced back to their chairs and towels to dry off.

"I'm hungry," she announced to him.

"Me too," he said looking around at the little shops and cafes behind them on the boardwalk "what should we get?"

"Pizza!" she said firmly.

He agreed and went to fetch them some food. On his way back from the little café with their pizza, he spotted a gift shop and grinned when one particular item caught his eye. When he returned with their food, she ate it just as fast she had her breakfast. He knew her doctors had put on her a careful diet after her coma to get her body used to food again so spoiling her with a few slices of pizza didn't bother him. When she finished eating, he presented her with another bag and a grin.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Just open it," he encouraged her.

She tore into the package like a kid on Christmas and pulled out two plastic buckets and two plastic shovels with little holes in them.

"I know they are for kids," he explained "but I figured we could use them to find some seashells, might make it easier."

She was staring at him as if he had presented her with a million dollars. She felt tears of gratitude sting at her eyes and she bit her lip to make them stop.

"I love it-I love you, thank you" she gushed launching herself at him with a hug.

"I love you too," he said smiling at how the simplest gestures seemed to make her the happiest.

"Come on," she insisted handing him a bucket and a shovel "lets go look now."

She didn't wait for him as she raced back to the waters edge, sank down into the sand and began digging away furiously.

Despite being equipped with tools, every shell she found was broken just like he anticipated but didn't have the heart to tell her. But she refused to stop searching. She had dug several holes in the sand in a small area around them, scrapping as far as her arm could reach for any in tact shells that might be hidden. The sun had started to set when she yelped suddenly, startling him but when he glanced up, she was grinning, and holding up two perfectly whole seashells.

"Look Nicky," she gushed excitedly presenting him with the shells as if they were gold.

"Nice," he said impressed with her resilience at searching in the hot sun.

She brushed off the sand that coated the shells delicately with her fingers so as not to break them before carefully setting the pair into her bucket for safekeeping. She wiped her hands of loose sand then rubbed her eyes. He noticed her do that whenever she started to get tired at home or at the hospital after the coma and he took that as a cue to start packing up their stuff and head home.

In the car, she was less energetic, no longer humming along with the radio but instead staying silent and examining the tiny shells with care. Back at his condo, she dumped all their supplies in the hallway and shuffled over to the sink to start cleaning the shells better. She kept glancing at her cell phone that was on the counter and provided instructions on how to properly clean them. She set them in a plastic cup with water to soak for a little, resting her chin on her hands on the counter watching the shells sink to the bottom of the cup slowly.

"I'll unpack," he offered, kissing the top of her head while she watched the shells.

"I need a shower," she declared abandoning the shells to do that in the hopes that they would be clean by the time she was done.

After a shower and a change of clothes, she immersed herself into the world of seashells, using her laptop to research different types and how to search for them properly. She sat cross legged on the couch in the living room while she worked, chewing on her thumb while reading article after article trying to retain as much knowledge as possible until her eyes grew heavy from staring at the screen too long and she had to stop. She retrieved the now clean and dry shells from the kitchen and took them into the master bedroom where Nick was already in bed watching T.V.

She crawled into the bed and under the covers exhausted, lying on top of him like she had done this morning, holding up the shells for him to see and saying "Aren't they pretty?"

"They're beautiful," he praised her, hugging her tight.

She smiled and placed the shells gently on the nightstand for safekeeping, settling back in his arms, her head resting on his chest, feeling sleepy but still wanting to keep talking.

"I love this place," she mumbled tiredly to him "I love the beach and seashells and you and our special beach day, thank you for taking me."

"You're welcome sweetheart," he said struck once again by how the simplest gestures seemed to mean so much to her.

As she dozed peacefully in his arms, he couldn't help but think of all she had been through and all she was doing right now to live her life to the fullest. Every second with her was a gift, her survival a miracle and he wasn't going to waste any chance to spoil her with love and beach days.


End file.
